S302 Anomalous Behavior
by ZenosParadox
Summary: RS. Reed and Sato share a secret regarding the pirate the Enterprise is holding prisoner. Missing scenes for Anomaly, Ep2, Season3


Title: S302 Anomalous Behavior Author: ZenosParadox  
  
Summary: Hoshi and Malcolm share a secret regarding the pirate the Enterprise is holding prisoner. Mild spoilers for Anomaly.  
  
Notes: Missing scenes for Anomaly, Season 3, Episode 2. 5 pages. Written September 21, 2003 and posted at LD, MHE. Disclaimer: The Enterprise characters belong to Paramount. This fiction was written solely for personal enjoyment.  
  
ANOMALOUS BEHAVIOR  
  
Lieutenant Reed and Ensign Sato were walking beside each other on their way to the mess hall as he described the condition of the derelict ship. "Do you remember our first mission when we saw the bodies hanging upside down?"  
  
Sato shuddered. "It's an image that still haunts my dreams."  
  
"In this case the bodies were free-floating, but the effect was the same. I'm fairly certain that this was an act of piracy. Has T'Pol sent you the logs?"  
  
"Yes, but Engineering has to fix a glitch in my console. Trip sent me on lunch break so I'd quit 'huverin' like a mother hen.' It's difficult to make progress when these anomalies strike unexpectedly."  
  
To emphasize her words, the floor lurched at this precise moment sending the Ensign into the senior officer. She held onto his shirt front for balance as his arms came around her waist.   
  
For a moment Sato was tempted to just bury herself in the comfort of this embrace to counter the frustrations of the day. Instead she found her equilibrium as he murmured, "I see what you mean."  
  
Reed quickly looked away from her eyes and released his hold. The pressure of a warm, living body helped dispel the taint of death he carried from the alien ship, but he quenched any other thoughts immediately.   
  
"I didn't realize how vulnerable we'd be out here, Lieutenant." Sato moved along the edge of the corridor to follow Reed as another wave undulated along the floor.  
  
"Having second thoughts about staying on Enterprise, Ensign?"  
  
"I knew it would test our limits, I just didn't anticipate the psychological effects of all of this--uncertainty." Sato turned to her comrade. "The Captain hardly smiles any more. Trip looks like he's still having trouble sleeping. Are you still exhausting yourself with heavy workouts?"  
  
"Are you still sleeping with a phase pistol under your pillow?"  
  
"I told you. It's for midnight target practice."  
  
"Right. And just when did you intend to contact me about scheduling these sessions?"  
  
"Let's get some food before it goes splat in the mess hall again," offered Sato in order to change the subject. Yes, the Expanse was having its effects on everyone.  
  
-----   
  
Sato entered the Armory to find Reed staring at the torpedoes. The pirates had just attacked and the crew had to deal with the first death on Enterprise: Fuller. She walked to Reed and put a hand on his shoulder. Now was not the time for ranks.   
  
"Malcolm, the Captain has finished his letter to Fuller's family. I thought you'd want to add a personal note. It's customary for--"  
  
"I know tradition, Hoshi," said Malcolm tightly, then he shook his head. There was no reason to snap at the Ensign; she was just doing her job. "I'll see to it as soon as I complete the inventory of what we've lost."  
  
"You captured one of the pirates?" asked Hoshi.   
  
"That was just luck. We almost lost Trip when they attacked Engineering. I hate losing Fuller, but should I feel guilty about being glad that it isn't Trip lying dead in med bay?"  
  
"No one told me about that." The loss of the Chief Engineer would have devastated the Armory Officer. "But I don't think it's a crime to feel relieved that the people you care about are alive. You're not losing your sense of morality."  
  
"Sometimes I wonder. I worry about what I might be willing to do to fulfill this mission, to keep my crew safe."  
  
"The time to get concerned is when you've quit worrying about it. Here, just record your letter and let me know when you're finished."  
  
-----  
  
It was late when Sato entered the mess hall and almost bumped into Tucker as he left. The Chief Engineer barely acknowledged her presence as he briskly walked away. She was surprised to find Reed sitting at the table alone and looking pensive. He sipped his drink.   
  
She went to the dispenser and echoed his earlier words. "Black tea, hot."  
  
Reed looked up when he heard her order. "It's rather late for you to be up, Ensign."  
  
"You boys don't have a monopoly on lack of sleep, Lieutenant."   
  
Sato gingerly took a sip of her tea. With all of the anomalies, she expected it to either be the wrong temperature or the wrong substance. Luck was with her tonight, however. It was perfect, in fact, better than the normal fare from the dispenser. "This tastes better than it should."  
  
"An anomaly can be an improvement. Your talent with languages is an anomaly, for instance," said Reed.  
  
"Thank you, Lieutenant. Hoshi Sato: Anomaly. That makes me feel so--"  
  
"I'm sorry," said Reed as he quickly looked away, blushing. "I seem to excel at saying the wrong thing around you."  
  
"I've learned to live with it." A quick wink accompanied her statement as Reed faced her again. Sato nodded toward the door and said, "Trip didn't look like he was going to get much sleep. At least working on all the problems gives him something to do with his time."  
  
Hoshi noticed a slight smile on the Lieutenant's face and became immediately suspicious. "Okay, out with it, Malcolm. You know something I don't. And it's something to do with Trip."  
  
"I haven't said a word," replied Malcolm with mock offense.  
  
"It's something about Trip and his lack of sleep," continued Sato as she gauged Malcolm's body language. She had learned to read the slight changes in expression in the Lieutenant. "He's been getting help. But I know Phlox doesn't like to prescribe drugs for sleeping from personal experience, so--it has to be someone else."  
  
"I'm not saying anything." But Hoshi noticed a sparkle of amusement in his eyes. Who would be the last person on Enterprise one would expect to help Trip sleep?  
  
Hoshi's eyes were wide as she said, "T'Pol! Somehow T'Pol is helping Trip get to sleep. Oh, wait, it can't be by, uh--"  
  
"No, it's not what we're thinking. The Commander was adamant about that." But there was a definite smile on Malcolm's lips.   
  
Hoshi and Malcolm shared a chuckle at the expense of their colleague. "You have to promise me not to repeat this. It just slipped out as we were talking."  
  
"You can trust me. I know when to keep quiet." Sato took another sip from her tea, but noticed that Reed was looking at her intensely.   
  
"So does our captive. He's given us no information at all about his ship or base of operations," said Reed. "I don't think he believes the Captain will use extreme measures against him, but I'm worried about testing the Captain's limits on this."  
  
"Do you actually think the Captain would stoop to torture?"  
  
Reed released a sigh. "I can't discount it. There's a resolve there and I keep hearing the Captain and Trip talk about doing whatever it takes."  
  
"Aren't there other ways to get information from a prisoner without inflicting bodily harm?"  
  
"Yes, there are, but I don't see Phlox cooperating other than telling us the pirate has a physiology similar to humans. What's even more frustrating is that I'm pretty sure I know the drug that would work on this prisoner. It inhibits control and is metabolized quickly so that it's difficult to trace. I can't deny the temptation to procure the drug from med bay and dose the prisoner is appealing. Phlox would be suspicious of my motives if I were to show up around his medical stores, though."  
  
Reed looked at Sato for a moment and registered how her pupils dilated for a moment. This was soon replaced by an expression of acceptance.  
  
"Which cabinet contains the drug?" Sato looked away from Reed as she asked the question. She would not offer to do anything and he would not ask.   
  
"First shelf, fourth door to the right of the entrance. Hypnobarbital."  
  
"Is there a security code on the locker?"  
  
"With all the anomalies, it's likely to have a glitch. In fact, I'm almost certain of it."  
  
"Well, maybe tomorrow will be a better day for you, Lieutenant. I think I'm going to wake up with a headache myself. I'll see you at breakfast at 0700."  
  
As Reed watched Sato walk away, he wondered if she would change her mind during the night. He should feel guilty about involving her in this, but no one would suspect the Ensign of pilfering psychotropic drugs. Just as no one would expect him to use it on a prisoner.  
  
-----   
  
"Ensign, I need your help for a moment," said Reed quietly to Sato. He had found her in the command center hard at work. She didn't say word, but merely followed Reed to the prisoner.  
  
"I gave him a dose, but it put him out deeper than I anticipated. He fell asleep and began mumbling something. Can you make out what he's saying?"  
  
The voice was too low for the UT to register, but Sato's acuity would have had no trouble.  
  
"Xindi. His ship met the Xindis. And then something about a Xindi database." Sato turned in astonishment to Reed.   
  
"I suggest you discover this on your own and alert the Captain."  
  
Sato nodded and left Reed. It didn't take her long to find the connection she needed.   
  
-----  
  
"It was a close call. We almost lost everything."   
  
Reed was whispering to Sato in an urgent tone of voice. She had been called to the brig to make sure the UT was working as the prisoner divulged his secrets. The Captain had left as soon as he got the information he wanted.   
  
The two officers now stood inside the brig by the prisoner who was slumped against the bench.  
  
"What happened?"   
  
"I gave the pirate a second smaller dose with his meal. When I went to the brig thinking it was time for the drug to be taking effect, I was just a few seconds behind the Captain. He hauled the prisoner to the decompression chamber and locked him in."  
  
"Captain Archer did that?" Hoshi looked surprised, but then Malcolm had a way of anticipating the Captain's actions. "That could have killed him."  
  
"Much quicker than the Captain would have expected. Luckily the drug or the Captain's threat began working."  
  
"So the Captain thinks he's still recovering from the affects of decompression?" asked Sato with a nod to the pirate.  
  
"He didn't say and I don't think he cares. He's got his information and that's what matters."  
  
-----  
  
Hoshi entered the gym and found her target. Currently he was pedaling like a madman on the exercise bicycles.  
  
Hoshi walked up beside him, but he remained oblivious to her presence. She leaned in to speak. "No one caught us, Malcolm. We got the Xindi database; that's what matters now."  
  
Malcolm heard her voice enter his frantic thoughts. The calm tone washed over him and he released a long sigh as he slowed his pace. Hoshi added one last statement. "We need to talk about this. Come by my quarters when you're through here."  
  
Malcolm didn't respond to her, so she repeated. "Malcolm? Promise me."  
  
Hoshi left when she got his affirming nod.  
  
-----  
  
"Do you think it made any difference? Would the decompression chamber have been enough to get the prisoner to talk? I keep asking myself, Hoshi, and I can't find the answer."   
  
Malcolm leaned his head against the wall as he sat on her bunk and closed his eyes.  
  
"I knew what I was looking for when we got the Xindi manifest from the sphere. I would have spent days on it otherwise."   
  
Hoshi touched Malcolm's shoulder to get his attention. She looked directly into his eyes as she said, "Without that connection we would have missed the opportunity to download the Xindi database. I don't regret my actions, Malcolm."  
  
"I never should have dragged you into this."  
  
"You're not my big brother, Lieutenant. I'm a Starfleet officer and I can accept responsibility for my decisions." Hoshi's voice was stern as she said this, but then she softened her tone. "The Captain will never know what we did, but I'm glad that you trust me."  
  
"You've earned it, Ensign. I wonder if your faith in me and my motives is wise, though."  
  
Hoshi exhaled as she considered this. She never questioned that Malcolm's approach had been appropriate. Was she deluding herself about the man? She looked at him as he closed his eyes again. "My faith is in the right place, Malcolm."  
  
She leaned against his shoulder and also closed her eyes. The silence was comforting. "We need to make a pact. We need to promise that we won't let each other lose our sense of humanity."  
  
Malcolm reached with a hand to pat her shoulder. That was the only outward sign of their pact as they enjoyed the quiet peace of the moment.  
  
*****  
  
Author notes:  
  
Minor revisions from original story to try to deal with the sequence of events. I think I got it right, but, anyway, it's fanfic.  
  
No reviews are necessary. Thanks for reading. 


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